Society has always viewed failure as a negative thing. However, if you never fail, you probably never take risks either. You probably never take risks because you fear failure. It’s a closed loop and you are the only one who can break this cycle. Never taking risks and always playing it safe severely limits your potential in life. It also tends to make life rather dull.

People thought I was crazy to leave the practice of law to build a ghostwriting business. Maybe I was. But let me tell you, I was definitely scared. I feared failure and success! More on that later on the blog.

At the start of any endeavor, most people think about what they will achieve if they succeed. But many also think about the risks, or what will happen and what they will lose if they fail. You may lose money or respect. You might get embarrassed. You may lose the love of the person you love most in the world. You may even risk death if you fail in some situations.

It is essential that you put your fear of failure into perspective. That will allow you to overcome your concerns and move forward towards potential success with the understanding that failure usually does not mean the end of the world. Here are five ways you can combat the fear of failure.

1. Realize you are not alone in your fear of failure.

Most people have this fear, and everyone has a limit regarding what they are willing to risk. For example, you may not be willing to try anything that puts your life in jeopardy.

You may not want to do anything that puts your relationships with loved ones on the line either. You may only be willing to risk a certain amount of money.

The first step to putting the prospect of failure into perspective is to have a reasonably clear understanding of how much you are willing to risk. What is your limit?

2. Focus on the endeavor you are about to embark upon.

What are the potential risks if you fail? Try to be as specific as possible. Write down the potential dangers. Also, write down the fallout of those risks. For example, if the risk is the loss of all your savings, the result may be that you cannot afford to retire or to send your children to college. What are the risks, and how do those risks affect your life now and in the future?

3. Are any of the risks you have identified beyond the limit you established in step one?

That is where you determine whether the potential risks are worth it if you fail as compared to the potential reward if you succeed. Does the risk involve something you are not willing to lose? Does the possible failure affect people other than you?

4. Identify your fear.

Do you fear the loss of something, such as money or some other asset, or do you fear failure?

Failure may depress you or cause you to feel embarrassed. Feelings such as these are the basis for fearing failure, but these feelings can be overcome rather quickly if you do fail.

5. Move forward with the risks worth taking.

After taking the first four steps, you’ll have a much better idea of what risks are worth taking and how any failure will affect you and others. If you feel that the chances are worth the potential award, the only thing left to do is to move forward with your endeavor. If you identify risks not worth taking, you can go back to the drawing board and come up with a new plan. You can also decide your fear of failure was appropriate and move onto something else entirely.

How do you combat a fear of failure?

The most important thing you can do to combat your fear of failure is to address it head-on. Fully identify the potential failure and it will affect you or someone else.

What is the absolute worst thing that could happen? Are you willing to face it?

After your assessments, you will know whether you are eager to move forward or not.

“Bitcoin is seen as the future of money and the more we trade with it, the more we understand it,” a senior financial analyst at Olsson Capital confirmed a few days ago. Not only does this virtual currency change the way we think about money, it brings a new way of trading with currency. When trading Bitcoin, it may feel like you are on a roller-coaster ride with the never-ending price fluctuations of this cryptocurrency. Many still have their doubts about Bitcoin but when looking at the profit margin of the trades done with it, one can’t help but want to get a piece of the pie as well. But when trading, what can you do to increase your profit margin?

Only invest a set amount of money when trading with Bitcoin

With Bitcoin’s huge price hikes and falls over a very short period of time, you need to keep in mind that you can either lose a large amount of money or gain a huge profit from a successful trade. With that said, only invest the money you can afford to lose and nothing more. If you make an unsuccessful trade at a certain point in time, the money you invested was set at a limited amount, thus you don’t lose all your life’s savings. If you are a beginner trader, it is recommended that you start trading with a limited amount of money to build your confidence and learn the tricks of the trade before jumping in at the deep end. If you don’t you stand the chance of losing all the money you invested in Bitcoin trading, leaving you with empty pockets.

Trade with a number of goals in mind

Many traders take one look at the Bitcoin market dropping and immediately sell everything they have invested at a fraction of the price they could have gotten if they had only waited for the drop to subside. When trading, make sure you trade according to pre-set goals such as what hours you will be trading, what amount you will be trading with and when you will close in on a specific trade. You might say that if the Bitcoin price drops to a certain level, you will cash out or sell a few coins. Do not let the fear of losing get in the way of making rational trading choices.

Take note of the trader stop-loss option

A stop-loss option in trading is the automated process of selling your stock if the loss you will have reaches a certain amount. If you trade according to a set stop-loss amount and the trades you make are unprofitable, you will lose money only until your loss reaches the set stop-loss limit. As soon as it reaches that point, your stock is immediately liquidated, preventing you from losing even more. That is a great option traders use when wanting to ensure they still make a small profit as it is better to lose a little but still have something left rather than lose everything and crashing with an unfavourable trade.

Reading trade charts

When trading Bitcoin, you need to make sure you understand the descriptions, charts and terms used when trading choices need to be made. Before making that trade, the average trader will inspect market trends set out on charts. In order for you to make the right trade at the right time, you need to make these charts your road to success. Technical analysis of Bitcoin charts can be daunting at times but the longer you trade, the easier it will be to read and you will then be able to make predictions with precision.

Don’t be afraid to take the crypto leap of faith

To this day, scepticism is at the order of the day when it comes to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Many financial experts address Bitcoin to be a “bubble” and will completely destroy the way investing is done. However, as we live in the 21st century, we need to embrace the path technology leads us on.

While following traditional methods of trading stocks, adding Bitcoin to your list of profit-making strategies, you already are one step ahead of the rest.

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